5.15 Purpose: Governance arrangements are necessary to show where accountability sits in the Authority, to set out responsibility for decision making, to assist in dispute and issue resolution, and to provide support for the project team.
5.16 Useful documents: Guidance notes on project governance are being developed by HM Treasury and OGC. Authorities are recommended to consult these and related documents as they will deal with governance in greater detail and provide examples of different governance structures which are appropriate. Whilst the project should have governance structure in place for managing the procurement phase of the project, this structure will need to be reviewed before contract signature.
5.17 Areas to consider: The governance structure should be reviewed and adjusted to suit the different demands of the project as it progresses. The box overleaf sets out the requirements that the governance arrangements should meet and the questions that should be answered.
5.18 Authorities should produce a combined governance chart showing the Contractor and the Authority's governance arrangements so that it is clear who talks to whom and what decisions can be made at each level. Authorities should produce clear terms of reference for each of the tiers of governance. These should include:
• composition and roles;
• frequency of meetings and numbers of members required;
• requirements; constraints; interfaces; dependencies;
• responsibilities and delegations;
• accountability within the Authority;
• reporting mechanisms; and
• procedures
• any timescales that could impact on project development.
Governance Arrangements The Authority should ensure that the arrangements: • meet the representation needs of all stakeholders going forward; • meet the requirements of the project; • fit with the Authority's overall governance structures and procedures; • deliver the requirements and the remit and terms of reference of any team or board; • ensure that the responsibilities of each level of governance are clear with no overlap; • at all levels governance should be capable of being administered within a timescale that does not impede the project's development • satisfy the continuity of personnel and knowledge requirements from the procurement phase; • corresponds appropriately to the Contractor's governance arrangements; • facilitate good decision making; • support the monitoring team; • enable information about the project and best practice to be controlled and communicated; • champion the project within the Authority's organisation; • enable the project to be evaluated; • challenge the project - for example making sure that the contract manager is acting in the interest of the Authority's project sponsor; and • fulfil probity obligations. |